So here is the dilemma, if not Thailand then where?

[The manic]

Just now, torrzent said:

why not canary islands, madeira, malta, or crete?

indeed your suggestion are better. Plenty of Greek island cheap, good food, but cops bent. Maderia expensive, Malta ok with an interesting culture but corrupt government and when I was there flooded with Libyans. It can get cold in the winter I think. The canaries are good fun but all these places lack decent P4P scene.

[Lacessit]

On 5/6/2018 at 12:41 PM, MaeJoMTB said:

Laos is a communist hell hole, probably the most boring country in the world I've ever visited.

Nothing to do, no bars, no nightlife, no decent food.

Someone said the baguettes were really good, but they weren't, same soft sugary bread as Thailand.

(Vietnam completely different their Baguettes. locally known as 'Banh Mi' are really good)

 

Imagine deepest rural Issan, but without the good food and attractive women ...... that's Laos.

 

Vietnam is great, this is an iced coffee (Phin Sua Da) and chicken baguette (Banh Mi Ga Xe) for $1.50c in a major chain 'Highlands Coffee', air con, sofas, free wifi. (Direct flight VietJet, CM to Saigon $75)

I have to disagree on the food in Vientiane, cafes served up good baguettes and I had an very good spaghetti marinara, they also knew how to cook a decent hamburger. Quite liked the LaoBeer dark ale.

I'd agree on the rest though - once you've toured the monuments, Vientiane has little else to offer. It's a criminal offence for a Lao woman to get it on with a falang, and as it's only an hour's drive north of Udon Thani, it's just as hot as Issan. A week there was long enough for me. AND they drive on the wrong side of the road.

[Jingthing]

The Peruvian retirement visa looks really rather easy although there is a long waiting time. 

The info I have now is a minimum 1,000 USA pension. If/when you get the approval, it is PERMANENT!

Lima seemed a bit much to me. 

Has anyone been to Arequipa?

Possibly compared to Cuenca Ecuador.

What about taxation there?

A reason the permanent offer is attractive is that supposing a nation has a financial requirement and you meet it now. But later you might not be able to meet it. Colombia for example bases their requirement on a multiple of national minimum wage. When that rises, the requirement rises as well. 

I have to admit the main feature of Peru for me would be the food. I think it's among the best in the world. Compared to Colombian food. OK once in a while but I think overall not a very interesting cuisine. 

Edited May 7, 2018 by Jingthing

[poanoi]

cambodia sorted out the corruption for those who wanted

by offering online visa,

now if thailand would offer online visa and extension and thus cut off the middle hand

immigration officers, i would just stop worrying, and certainly buy a condo.

actually it would be enough if they offer online extension in all cases,

and thereby bypass the immigration officers,

-the rampant corruption would become insignificant overnight

[Jingthing]

More details on Peru.

Tax free on pension income.

Not sure about retirement account withdraws such as IRA which are reporting as income to US IRS but not sure how Peru would consider withdrawals of long ago but not US taxed yet earned money.

Duty breaks on importing personal goods except cars.

Here's a negative. You must import the pension income stated to a Peruvian bank.

Not sure if the minimum only or the full pension over 1k. Also would it need to be pesos or could it be a dollar account?

I guess bottom line engaging a local immigration lawyer might be wise before even trying.

Maybe stupid question.

U.S. Social security - - will they send your monthly check to most any foreign bank?

I know many people use the Bangkok Bank domestic transfer scheme but that feature is very rare.

 

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

[Unsane]

On ‎5‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 12:41 PM, MaeJoMTB said:

Laos is a communist hell hole, probably the most boring country in the world I've ever visited.

Nothing to do, no bars, no nightlife, no decent food.

You do a disservice to Laos in your analysis, MaeJoMTB.  It's actually worse than that.  

 

Wouldn't return to the stinking commie pit that's Lao if my life depended on it.  

[idman]

Cutting through the forest.  In the Americas, Panama first then Peru. Staying in S.E. Asia Nha Trang in Vietnam, Phnom Phen in Cambodia.  There you go, any place else is not worth it.  You're welcome one and all for these tips.

[JimmyJ]

Several have mentioned Panama.

 

Do not buy a condo/home there.

(Or if you must,  be extremely cautious and do a great deal of research and speak to other expats who have done so successfully. But then make sure the expats you get info from are honest).

 

Richard Heart is a prominent person in the Bitcoin world.

He moved there with his girlfriend and bought a mansion.

He explains the situation in a Youtube interview, I can locate it if anyone cares.

He was swindled out of the mansion by scammers working with either the realtor or lawyer he used or both - don't recall all the details.

I do recall him saying "When I moved to Panama I was rich. When I came back to the US I wasn't."

Edited May 8, 2018 by JimmyJ

[MaeJoMTB]

13 hours ago, idman said:

Cutting through the forest.  In the Americas, Panama first then Peru. Staying in S.E. Asia Nha Trang in Vietnam, Phnom Phen in Cambodia.  There you go, any place else is not worth it.  You're welcome one and all for these tips.

I've really enjoyed Saigon, despite generally hating the 'big city' experience. I also enjoyed Vung Tau as a beach resort.

Vietnam is vastly underrated as an expat destination, and surprisingly inexpensive.

Saigon Green beer 50c in a bar for 450ml.

 

If you marry a local $40 for a 5 year multi entry VISA.

Edited May 8, 2018 by MaeJoMTB

[simon43]

I was working there...

What year were you working in Myanmar? I ask because there have been huge changes in the social fabric of the country over the past couple of years.

I'm not wearing rose-tinted specs because I acknowledge the bad situation in previous years and I certainly do not currently recommend it as a retirement destination. But many things have changed in the last few years, although the country still has a long, long way to go.

[jerry921]

Very little mention of Mexico here. I'm coming up on the end of my second year of retirement on the Mayan Riviera. Beautiful clean beach. Good hospitals & medical care, reasonable prices (though higher than the rest of Mexico). Plenty of English understood.

 

The big negative is the cartel violence. That varies according to the part of Mexico. So far here it's the case that a lot of people get killed, but only those who are involved in the drug trade. It's mostly gang-on-gang or police assassinations. And the cartel people are pretty good shots, no collateral damage. Most of the violence happens in the tract housing areas where foreigners have no need to go. I'm renting, I'm holding off on buying a condo until I see whether the trend gets worse.

 

As far as visas/residency, Mexico is pretty easy. The process is a bit of a hassle, but it's not a forever thing. No 90 day reporting. You get a visa in your home country. Within a few days of your arrival you start the process to convert that to a temporary residency card. The process can be painless or not depending on your immigration center. At busy immigration centers it's a lot of waiting and can take 10 weeks with 5 visits required over those 10 weeks. The first temporary residency card is good for just one year. Then after a year you have to do the immigration center process again, but this time you can get a 3 year temporary residency card. At the end of that 3 years (end of 4th year in Mexico) you go through the process one final time and get a permanent residency card, which is good for life. You have to show you meet financial requirements, either income or net assets at a certain level, during each of the temporary residence processes, but not the last permanent residency process.

 

Or you can just do border runs, many countries get a 180 day visa on arrival, but the residency card is worth the hassle IMHO if you're going to stay more than a year.

 

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by jerry921
typos

[Airalee]

3 minutes ago, jerry921 said:

Very little mention of Mexico here. I'm coming up on the end of my second year of retirement on the Mayan Riviera. Beautiful clean beach. Good hospitals & medical care, reasonable prices (though higher than the rest of Mexico). Plenty of English understood.

 

The big negative is the cartel violence. That varies according to the part of Mexico. So far here it's the case that a lot of people get killed, but only those who are involved in the drug trade. It's mostly gang-on-gang or police assassinations. And the cartel people are pretty good shots, no collateral damage. Most of the violence happens in the tract housing areas where foreigners have no need to go. I'm renting, I'm holding off on buying a condo until I see whether the trend gets worse.

 

As far as visas/residency, Mexico is pretty easy. The process is a bit of a hassle, but it's not a forever thing. No 90 day reporting. You get a visa in your home country. Within a few days of your arrival you start the process to convert that to a temporary residency card. The process can be painless or not depending on your immigration center. At busy immigration centers it's a lot of waiting and can take 10 weeks with 5 visits required over those 10 weeks. The first card one is good for just one year. Then after a year you have to do the immigration center process again, but this time you can get a 3 year temporary residency card. At the end of that 3 years (end of 4th year in Mexico) you go through the process one final time and get a permanent residency card, which is good for life. You have to show financial support, either income or net assets at a certain level, during each of the processes except the last.

 

Or you can just do border runs, many countries get a 180 day visa on arrival, but the residency card is worth the hassle IMHO if you're going to stay more than a year.

 

 

The Mayan Riviera is a beautiful place.  I visited Akumal back in 1984 when there was only one telephone in the town and you had to make an appointment to use it to call back to the states.  Tulum was also a beautiful place.  In the mid 2000s I spent quite a bit of time on Isla Mujeres where a friends father retired to. (He is now in Merida which I understand is also a good place to retire). I would have island fever quickly if trying to live on Isla Mujeres.  

 

I think most people are afraid of Mexico due to the oversensationalized media reports regarding the drug cartel violence but I agree with you that it is very selective and tourists (or foreigners in general) have nothing to fear.

 

My own personal reason for not choosing Mexico is that for some unknown reason, no matter how careful I am with the food I eat and the water I drink (or even brush my teeth with), I always end up with explosive diarrhea that lasts the whole time I am there.

[poanoi]

28 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

I've really enjoyed Saigon, despite generally hating the 'big city' experience. I also enjoyed Vung Tau as a beach resort.

Vietnam is vastly underrated as an expat destination, and surprisingly inexpensive.

Saigon Green beer 50c in a bar for 450ml.

 

If you marry a local $40 for a 5 year multi entry VISA.

i would be very tempted if they had go-go,

but without that, i think i prefer portugal, neither got go-go,

i'll admit visa issue is a lot less than thailand, but portugal is no hassle at all,

and not subject to change either

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎5‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 4:56 PM, Brunolem said:

Burma?

Not yet, but it's going to be the place if they can get the politics sorted.

Loads of great beaches to stay on in the south.

 

My best ever country was Singapore, but too expensive. Second best Antarctica, but need a job to live there and I'm too old.

Thailand is the cheese for me, regardless of any problems it may have- warm to hot, and cheap ( unless one wants to live like a rich farang ). 

[Hummin]

Mexico is a hassel for me when it comes to flights. So it is not an option. It is the same as I would go Brasil or Phillippines from my home of orign. 

[jerry921]

14 minutes ago, Airalee said:

I think most people are afraid of Mexico due to the oversensationalized media reports regarding the drug cartel violence but I agree with you that it is very selective and tourists (or foreigners in general) have nothing to fear.

I wouldn't go as far as saying "nothing to fear". One has to be aware of one's surroundings. It's like living in New York City. There are areas where you don't go because if you go there you stand out too much and become a target.

 

Kidnapping for ransom is an issue in some Mexican states but not here, so far.

 

@Hummin: it depends on where you're from. Cancun airport has direct flights to lots of US cities. But if you're Canadian and want to try to fly to Mexico without clearing US immigration, that may be tricky. I think there are probably direct flights to London & Paris, but don't know for sure.

 

For me 3 hours non-stop to Washington DC is the connection I care about for now, and that beats the heck out of 36 hours to Thailand.

[Jingthing]

I definitely think some localities in Mexico are desirable as expat destinations but fewer than before because of the drug violence. For example, Acapulco which I've been to and enjoyed, forget about it. Probably also forget about Mazatlan (also been to and loved). I think the Puerto Vallarta area would be OK and some of the inland colonial cities.

Trouble is I can't meet the financial requirements for their retirement visa (nor can most Americans based on social security checks only) so for me Mexico is out. 

[Hummin]

@jerry921

Im Europeen, without direct flight. Thailand is the easiest destination for me, and I have to go sometimes on short notice. 

[Airalee]

29 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I definitely think some localities in Mexico are desirable as expat destinations but fewer than before because of the drug violence. For example, Acapulco which I've been to and enjoyed, forget about it. Probably also forget about Mazatlan (also been to and loved). I think the Puerto Vallarta area would be OK and some of the inland colonial cities.

Trouble is I can't meet the financial requirements for their retirement visa (nor can most Americans based on social security checks only) so for me Mexico is out. 

The financial requirements appear to be lesser than Thailand.

 

”The most common type of temporary resident visa for expats is as a retiree. To get it, you have to show that you can support yourself in Mexico on funds you’ve earned (or are earning) elsewhere. The minimum monthly requirement is about $1,553 in net income for an individual (as shown on your last six months of bank statements), plus about $520 a month for each dependent. Alternatively, you can provide bank account or investment statements for the last 12 months that show an average balance of at least $25,880. A third way is to show that you own a property in Mexico that has a value of at least about $207,046.”

 

https://internationalliving.com/countries/mexico/visa/

 

What type of visa are you on here?

[Jingthing]

6 minutes ago, Airalee said:

The financial requirements appear to be lesser than Thailand.

 

”The most common type of temporary resident visa for expats is as a retiree. To get it, you have to show that you can support yourself in Mexico on funds you’ve earned (or are earning) elsewhere. The minimum monthly requirement is about $1,553 in net income for an individual (as shown on your last six months of bank statements), plus about $520 a month for each dependent. Alternatively, you can provide bank account or investment statements for the last 12 months that show an average balance of at least $25,880. A third way is to show that you own a property in Mexico that has a value of at least about $207,046.”

 

https://internationalliving.com/countries/mexico/visa/

 

What type of visa are you on here?

Retirement extensions based on bank account which has an INCOME requirement of ZERO BAHT.

Thailand is one of the few nations that offers the option of retirement visas based on banked money rather than pension income. (Popular destination Ecuador is another.)

Again, that amount of money required by Mexico (which had been raised significantly some years back) is ABOVE the average U.S. social security check so I am being quite accurate to assert that most Americans that only have S.S. pensions to live on income-wise would not qualify in Mexico. A minority have private pensions as well, but fewer and fewer over time.

The Mexico example is instructive as they did significantly raise their financial requirements some years back on the issue of nations that offer permanent residence stability where the requirements (hopefully) won't change once you've got the approval. An exception was Colombia which outrageously cancelled their lifetime residency stamps and changed them to 5 years. 

Edited May 8, 2018 by Jingthing

[Brunolem]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Not yet, but it's going to be the place if they can get the politics sorted.

Loads of great beaches to stay on in the south.

 

My best ever country was Singapore, but too expensive. 

Indeed, beaches and islands is Southern Burma are beautiful and still unspoiled, a great alternative to the disaster that have become Thai beaches.

 

Singapore is my favorite city, but really too expensive, even more than European capitals!

 

I like Bhutan because it's beautiful and they reject all the foreigners...the problem is that includes me...

[thaibeachlovers]

36 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

I like Bhutan because it's beautiful and they reject all the foreigners.

Probably why they are one of the happiest countries in the world. Too many tourists are like the plague- destroy everything.

[Brunolem]

28 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Probably why they are one of the happiest countries in the world. Too many tourists are like the plague- destroy everything.

Everything done on a very large scale ultimately ends up in disaster.

 

In order to give the masses access to something, tourism or else, prices have to go down, because the masses will never earn more.

And in order to make the prices go down, quality has to go down!

 

Ours is a society constantly in search of the lowest common denominator...and very efficient at finding it...hence our current predicament...

[simon43]

 a great alternative to the disaster that have become Thai beaches.

 

I thought Thai beaches were a disaster until I visited Ngalapi Beach last week.  A potentially nice beach utterly ruined by building on the beach side of the beach road, thus hiding the sea view and making it very difficult to actually get to the beach from the small hotels on the other side of the road.  (The big hotels on the beach side of the road are mainly owned by family of the Burmese military and most have no building permissions).

 

At least in Thailand the authorities generally agree that building on the beach side of the road is not a good idea if the sea view is obscured.

 

Seriously, if the Burmese develop the southern coast and islands in the same way as Ngalapi Beach, then kiss goodbye to paradise

[flagator96]

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Retirement extensions based on bank account which has an INCOME requirement of ZERO BAHT.

 

If you have an account of 800K BHT, that is approximately the $25K Mexico requires for the permanent residency process to begin (takes 4 years). If you have $100K you can get it at once. Plus, you DO NOT have to move the funds in Mexico which is much better than Thailand's demands for a local bank acct to get renewals of your retirement extension within Thailand.

Other advantages of Mexico is of course that you will not need 90 day reporting hassles, multiple re-entry permit (legalized extortion) fees, fear of being fined if you do not report to the police your new location even when you travel within Thailand, and all the other problems and hassles that Thailand imposes on us. Also the obvious upside is that at the end of 4 years you can get permanent residency, and you do not have to show the financial means at the final application or ever again! Then you can put an end to all the heavy handed junk that Thailand will be imposing on you for the rest of your life if you choose to stay there. Plus, it is exceedingly difficult to get permanent residency in Thailand just because the country does not want you to have these rights and makes it exceedingly difficult. Finally, just because Colombia made the mistake of canceling it's permanent residency it does not mean that Mexico will do it too. Just some food for thought :)

[MaeJoMTB]

2 hours ago, Brunolem said:

Ours is a society constantly in search of the lowest common denominator...

I though we were all searching for cheap pussy & booze?

Edited May 8, 2018 by MaeJoMTB

[Unsane]

Mexico?  Wouldn't go there on holiday let alone live there.

[MaeJoMTB]

2 minutes ago, Unsane said:

Mexico?  Wouldn't go there on holiday let alone live there.

It ain't on my list either, even if they gave me free citizenship.

If the locals are all trying to escape, I probably won't like it.

Edited May 8, 2018 by MaeJoMTB

[pearciderman]

On 5/2/2018 at 4:48 PM, 3421abc said:

Today I could not think of a place that would be an alternative to Thailand. However in 5 to 10 yrs I see Vietnam and even Cambodia as they are catching up fast.

In what respect are they catching up?

[Hummin]

21 minutes ago, Unsane said:

Mexico?  Wouldn't go there on holiday let alone live there.

They have qute hairy ladies there, for those who like that. Makes me think of  From Dusk to Down. Loved that movie. Selma Hayek? O

 

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by Hummin